Structure
Neuron
A nerve cell that carries electrical and chemical signals. The human brain has about 86 billion of them.
Action potential
A brief electrical pulse that travels along a neuron as sodium and potassium ions flow through channels.Source: Hodgkin & Huxley, 1952Source: Purves et al., 2001
Step 3 of 7ReadingProcess
How Action potential connects
Action potential happens in
Action potential uses
Molecule
Ion channel
A protein pore that lets particular ions cross a membrane. Single channels can be recorded opening and closing.
Action potential is related to
Structure
Myelin
An insulating sheath around many nerve fibers. Signals jump between the gaps in it, which makes them travel faster.
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Sources & further reading
The explanations on this page are our own summaries of these sources. Follow a link to read the original; if anything here disagrees with it, the original wins. How we choose and check sources.
A quantitative description of membrane current and its application to conduction and excitation in nerve (opens the original in a new tab)
Hodgkin AL, Huxley AF (1952). Journal of Physiology 117:500-544.
The equations behind this site's action potential simulator.
Historical paperPrimary researchNeuroscience (2nd edition) (opens the original in a new tab)
Purves D, Augustine GJ, Fitzpatrick D, et al. (2001). Sinauer Associates.
Edited textbook, free to read on NCBI Bookshelf.
TextbookEducational